Tea party group floats immigration plan

A major tea party group is officially coming out against the Senate’s Gang of Eight immigration bill and releasing its own proposal that it drafted after meeting with conservative leaders and lawmakers.

The proposal from TheTeaParty.net calls for border security first, assimilation vouchers, preferential treatment for immigrants who have served in the military, a manageable application process, restrictions on entitlements for legalized immigrants and an assurance that immigrants would not undermine American workers.

Text Size

-

+

reset

Niger Innis, chief strategist of TheTeaParty.Net, said his group met with conservatives such as Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) before releasing a final draft of the proposal. An aide to Sessions confirmed that the senator met with the group and is grateful for its efforts.

Most major tea party groups so far have either come out against immigration reform or remained neutral on the issue. But TheTeaParty.Net, which was among the conservative groups invited to meet with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) last month and represents 3 million people, had been walking a fine line of supporting Rubio’s efforts to make it more conservative without endorsing the Gang of Eight’s bill.

Innis acknowledged that although there are still those among the tea party base who believe deportation to be the only solution to the nation’s broken immigration system, the group is not expecting opposition from its base.

“We have very carefully gone through a vetting process with our grassroots,” Innis told POLITICO.

“The granting of citizenship is the most solemn honor this country can confer,” said Todd Cefaratti, founder of the group, in a statement. “It is not something that ought to be used to score political points or to win the next election. Before the American people extend this gift they must be assured that verifiable border security has preeminent priority. The Senate bill currently does not have it. Americans will not be bullied, intimidated and steamrolled into accepting this legislation.”